She was analyzing the scents here.
This room was filled with various complex emotions.
From Ron and the others, there was the joy of reunion, mixed with "secrets" and "tension" regarding the current situation;
From Lupin, there was gentle "protection" and a faint "worry";
From Moody, it was a mass of pure "vigilance" and "paranoia."
And from Sirius, besides the "joy" of seeing them, there was more of a "mania" and "suppression" from being trapped in a cage.
Lia could smell that this house was slowly devouring his vitality; that dark curse originating from his bloodline was eroding him bit by bit.
What made her most uneasy was herself.
Ever since entering this house, something inside her had been awakened.
It was the memory fragments belonging to Tom Riddle, the soul residue belonging to Lord Voldemort.
This Black family ancestral home was filled with traces of pure-blood supremacist dark magic, and these traces resonated with the darkness within her.
It felt like returning... home.
The thought gave Lia a shiver of disgust, and she instinctively leaned closer to Hermione.
Only the clean, warm scent of Hermione—a mix of books and a faint hint of shampoo—could give her a moment's respite from this quagmire.
"How is Harry?" Hermione took a sip of butterbeer and asked Ron in a low voice.
"Terrible."
Ron's face fell.
"He's locked upstairs, so angry he's about to explode. None of us are allowed to tell him anything about the Order of the Phoenix; it's Dumbledore's order. He feels abandoned."
"Dumbledore believes Lord Voldemort might be spying on Harry's thoughts in some way," Lupin explained gently. "For Harry's protection, and to protect the Order of the Phoenix's intelligence, this isolation is necessary."
"But he's going crazy!" Ron complained. "He thinks we've been having a great time all summer and just left him alone at the Dursleys'!"
Hermione's delicate eyebrows furrowed into a knot.
She could completely understand Harry's feelings—the fear of being abandoned by the world and facing the unknown alone.
Just then, Lia's body suddenly froze.
Her Eye of Truth was activated without warning, and the world before her instantly lost its color.
The kitchen, the people, the food on the table... everything turned into a black-and-white sketch made of magic lines.
Then, a completely new scene, one that didn't belong here, forced its way into her mind!
It was a dark corridor with snake-shaped sconces on the walls.
A figure in black robes, whose face was obscured, was kneeling before a high-backed armchair.
"Master... we failed... the prophecy orb... we couldn't get it..." the figure's voice trembled with fear.
From the chair, a cold, raspy voice devoid of any human emotion spoke.
"Lucius..."
Just hearing that name made Lia shudder from the depths of her soul.
It is never sheer power that causes fear.
Only sinister malice makes all life recoil in displeasure.
"You have... disappointed me."
"Master! Please give me another chance! I..."
"Cruciatus Curse!"
"Aaaaaaaagh—!"
A scream so shrill it didn't sound human pierced Lia's consciousness.
She felt as if she could personally experience the agony of nerves being burned through one by one and her soul being repeatedly torn apart.
She saw the figure named Lucius twitching and rolling frantically on the floor, in extreme pain.
The vision came to an abrupt end.
"Lia? Lia!"
Hermione's anxious voice pulled her back to reality.
Lia found herself gripping Hermione's arm so tightly her nails were almost sinking into the flesh.
Cold sweat soaked her clothes at the back, and her long silver hair clung to her pale cheeks.
"What's wrong? You look terrible!" Hermione hurriedly pulled her into her arms and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.
Everyone in the kitchen stopped what they were doing and looked over with concern.
"I... I saw..." Lia's voice was dry and raspy. "I saw... Lord Voldemort... he was torturing... someone named Lucius..."
Sirius and Lupin's expressions instantly became incredibly grave.
"Lucius Malfoy," Sirius spat out the name, his disgust evident. "Draco's father, a die-hard Death Eater."
"She can see what's happening on Lord Voldemort's side?" Tonks's eyes widened in surprise.
"Not just see it," Lia shook her head, her fear still lingering. "I can feel... that pain..."
She took a sip of the pumpkin juice Hermione handed her, taking deep breaths to calm down.
"This is very similar to Harry's previous situation," Lupin analyzed calmly, "but clearer and more direct than his."
"Because of the Horcrux." Moody, who had been silent, fixed his wildly spinning magical eye on Lia. "The one you swallowed is more complete, and more... like him, than the fragment in Harry."
"Dumbledore told me that when you first entered school, you ate that fellow who was possessing Quirrell that year."
"This means," Moody's voice held a cruel reality, "from now on, you will become Lord Voldemort's unconscious eyes. His most secret atrocities and most venomous plans may appear before you without warning. You will share that endless nightmare with him."
A deathly silence fell over the kitchen.
"Does that mean she also needs to be isolated like Harry?"
Lupin asked after analyzing the situation.
A sudden commotion came from outside the door. Harry's angry shouts and Mrs. Weasley's attempts to soothe him intertwined, announcing the arrival of another storm.
But for Lia, the real storm had already begun in her mind.
When she closed her eyes, she could see those scarlet snake-like eyes staring coldly at her through the endless darkness.
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